Illinois notebook: Former Illini prepare for Super Bowl Sunday

Tuesday

Cut five times by NFL teams, sometimes before ever earning a spot on the roster, former Illinois fullback Carey Davis found a home as the only fullback with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cut five times by NFL teams, sometimes before ever earning a spot on the roster, former Illinois fullback Carey Davis found a home as the only fullback with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"There were a few times where I got frustrated,'' Davis said. "I'd never say, 'This is it. I'm done. I can't do it any more.' It finally paid off.''

Davis isn’t the only former Illini preparing for Super Bowl XLIII.

A finalist two years ago as the NFL's sexiest man with future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, Arizona kicker Neil Rackers’ shoes already are displayed in the Hall after he became only the second kicker with three field goals from 50 yards or longer in one game. Nathan Hodel, his long snapper, has found a niche as an eight-year veteran.

While Steelers rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall remains inactive after a season-ending shoulder injury in September, the other three former Illini are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Cardinals and Steelers arrived in Tampa on Monday.

A former prep running back whose athletic ability made him a pass-catching fullback at Illinois, Davis spent one week on the roster at Indianapolis before the Colts cut him in 2004. He also spent time on the practice squad with Atlanta, Tampa (twice) and Miami. He was briefly on the Falcons' roster, but Davis never found a home until Pittsburgh. A blocking back, Davis has 12 carries for 35 yards and five catches for 27 yards.

"It's been a long road, bouncing around from to team to team and not getting the opportunity I deserved,'' Davis said. "I finally got to Pittsburgh, and things fell into place.''

If the game comes down to Rackers' foot, the Cardinals wouldn't mind. He set an NFL record in 2005 with 40 field goals in a single season. The previous season, he joined Morten Andersen as the only kicker with three field goals of 50 yards or more in a single game with kicks of 55, 55 and 50.

After he was cut by Cincinnati in 2003, Rackers became a fantasy league prize and signed a four-year, $6.4 million contract that runs through 2009.

"I had the option of becoming a free-agent,'' said Rackers, a native of St. Louis. "I've got a grandfather who was a hard-core St. Louis Cardinals fan. He hates it when people leave and they take the money over a team that gave them a chance. I wanted to stay here and make it work.''

While Rackers had five holders in the last two seasons with the Cardinals, the constant has been Hodel, a former Illini walk-on from Belleville East.

Men’s basketball

Illinois extended its streak in the top 25 rankings to two weeks, jumping six spots to No. 19 in the Associated Press poll. The Illini moved up four spots to No. 20 in the USA Today coaches poll. They are a No. 4 seed in the latest ESPN bracketology projections.

Those streaks are nothing compared to Illinois' run against Minnesota. When Illinois (17-3 overall, 5-2 in the Big Ten) plays at Minnesota on Thursday (8 p.m., Big Ten Network), the Illini attempt to extend a 20-game winning streak against the Gophers. Illinois hasn't lost to Minnesota since 1999.

"The crazy thing is it goes through three different coaches on our part and (four) coaches on their part,'' said Illini coach Bruce Weber. "We played them three times last year. Each time, we brought it up that all that matters is that given day, those 2 hours and if you're ready to play.

"(Minnesota) will use it as motivation. With our guys, we can't worry about history. We have to worry about the present.''

The steak began in the 1998-99 season with a win by No. 11 seed Illinois over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament's first round. Three coaches at Illinois (Lon Kruger, Bill Sef and Weber) and four at Minnesota (Clem Haskins, Dan Monson, Jim Molinari and Tubby Smith) were part of the streak.

Recruiting

While Illinois felt it solidified its commitment during a weekend visit from East St. Louis wide receiver Terry Hawthorne -- named the top high school receiver by Parade magazine -- the Illini await decisions from running back Ronnie Wingo and wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes, a pair of four-star recruits.

Wingo, the St. Louis University High star, will apparently announce his decision Tuesday evening on St. Louis-area television. Illinois and Missouri are expected to be leaders, though Wingo wouldn't publically eliminate Arkansas, Kansas and Minnesota.

After committing to Tennessee in December before the Vols fired coach Phil Fulmer, Stokes visited Illinois and Michigan in the past two weekends.

The Illini received a commitment from three-star Fort Walton Beach (Fla.) defensive tackle Akeem Spence. He picked the Illini over South Florida, Iowa State, North Carolina State and Syracuse.

In other news

- Thanks to a 61-52 upset victory over Indiana on Sunday, the Illini women's basketball team ended a 10-game losing streak just one defeat short of the school record. Indiana entered as the league leader. Said Illini junior Lacey Simpson: "Coach wrote on the board, 'Do you want to go down in (Illinois) history as the worst team?' '' Illinois is 5-16 overall, 1-9 in the Big Ten.

- Quarterback Juice Williams and receiver Arrelious Benn have been ranked as the 35th and 38th best college football players returning for 2009, according to Scout.com.

- Flyin' Illini guard Kendall Gill will serve as Big Ten Network analyst during the Illinois-Iowa game Sunday at Assembly Hall. Gill worked previously in the BTN studio, but this is his first game assignment.

- Illinois 157-pounder Mike Poeta improved to 3-0 and scored Illinois' only points in a 32-4 wrestling loss to top-ranked Iowa Sunday. Poeta's late start this season resulted from a ruptured bursa sac in his left knee.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

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